The other day, I was in Target. I know. I know. It sometimes sounds as if I live there. What can I say? Its close. Its handy. And it has everything I need, even the occasional boost of caffeine (Starbucks). BTW...Did I mention Starbucks now makes smoothies? http://www.starbucks.com/menu They have added several nutritious items to their menu. Next time you visit one, check it out.
Anyway, while I was at Target picking up a few items, I thought I would pick up a pedometer. I wanted one that tallied up miles. That is my primary focus, right? I don't pay much attention to how many calories I'm burning while walking. I am currently at the weight I want to be at. As I looked across the selection of pedometers, they seemed to go in order of features... Count steps only...then count steps and calories....Then I finally found what I was looking for...Count Distance. It also had steps and calories. No worries. They can come along for the ride...or the walk. Whichever.
For a few days, it sat on our kitchen island still unopened. I'll admit, I was avoiding it. Who makes these packages? You can't open them with your hands. You always have to break out the scissors. Ugh. Me and scissors...now a great pair. I am a bit clumsy and my eyes are slowly going downhill. I grab my readers. I want to be careful not to slice my finger off...or worse...damage the instructions. : }
I think the instructions were written for the folks from Gulliver's Travels...Remember the little people that tied him up? I might need my husband's glasses for this mission. I read through the table of contents and I am overwhelmed... I had no idea it would be this complicated. So, what do I do? I called my son. "Sweetie, mom is getting very frustrated.". He sighs and comes over to assist me in the task of setting up my pedometer. "Here, let me." I give him the tiny contraption and he proceeds to set it up...without glasses...and get this...without the instructions. Come on...am I that hopeless when it comes to electronics? Okay...maybe. It did take fifteen minutes just to figure out I had to pull that plastic thing to get the battery started. You should have been there when I needed to change the ribbon on the printer. Evolution makes kids smarter than their parents. Many years ago, back in the eighties, I bought my parents a word processor. My dad sat
in front of it and said to my mom, "Hon, look...bird got us one of them little electronical box typewriters." I knew then that it would become another dust collector. Once I left, it was discretely relocated to the garage with most of the other things I bought them in my attempt to bring them out of the dinosaur age.
So, I had become like my parents...obsolete. All I can say is...I am really glad we have kids to help us. Otherwise, how in the world was going to tally up my miles? He set me up for time, weight. Then, he showed me how to select miles in lieu of kilometers. Now, that would have been interesting. Did they even teach the metric system when I went to school? I don't think so. Then we came to stride length. Stride length? What the heck is stride length? Is that a military marching stride or a domestic goddess stride? The instructions said I would need a tape measure. This is getting too complicated. Now, I had to find the tape measure. Let's see...where did I put that thing? The last we used it was for measuring our son for his ongoing attempt to complete his scout fitness badge. Right... I found it.
Mom's know where everything is in the house. We must. I mean, whenever someone is looking for something, don't they first go to mom? "Mom, where is my blue shirt? The one that goes with my tan shorts..." "Honey, where are my glasses?" I hear that one at least three times a day. In the end, I just guessimated the stride distance. This is supposed to be a positive thing...buying a pedometer. I shouldn't let it stress me out before I take the first step.
So, now I am really for our "out and about" days. My advice...if you buy a pedometer, before you even open the package...find a teenager to help. They love to be needed. Don't we all? As I sit here, our youngest is playing with his Dad's Ipad. I can't figure that thing out. My fingers can't seem to make the touch screen work. Maybe its my poor circulation. Oh well, back to my antique Dell with the 17 inch screen. Have a healthy day. : )
No comments:
Post a Comment